By Dave Meltzer |
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| @DaveMeltzerWON

We're looking for your thoughts on tonight's Dragon Gate show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to
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We've got our holiday special for all newsletter and web site subscribers. Anyone who orders a gift subscription for a friend who is a new subscriber for four months will get one free month added to your subscription. Just make sure when you order to note it is the holiday special. This is a good time to order because over the next two months we will have both the Year in Review issue and the awards issue.

We've got another jammed issue of the Observer out this week, with the main story looking back at the history of pro wrestling's world titles. We go back to Hackenschmidt vs. Jenkins in 1905, and go through the creation of the NWA world title, the WWWF title, the AWA title and a number of offshoots, why there was so much emphasis in the 50s on having one world champion, how the NWA nearly fell apart and what put it back together, and then fell apart again. We look at the period the WWWF title was created and why it happened, as well as the attempt in 1965 to unify the WWWF and NWA titles and why it fell apart. We look back at who was the most influential pro wrestler in U.S. history, and the state of wrestling in the 70s.

We also look at the WWE TLC PPV, with full coverage and match-by-match with star ratings.

We also have a feature on the career of Georges St-Pierre, with him talking about why he left and more of a perspective on his decision, what he meant to UFC, records that he set, PPV performances and many awards.

We also have more on both the WWE network and its TV negotiations. We look at WWE's pitch and the accuracy of it, what the value of getting WWE programming would be to various stations, WWE changing its way of thinking, who has passed in the past on WWE programming, how the negotiations will be going down and in what country WWE's negotiating timing looks great.

We also look at UFC adding a women's 115 pound weight class and run down the 11 new fighters signed for debuting on the 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter.

We update the 2014 WrestleMania scoreboard regarding all the big names on the outside and where things currently stand. We look at wrestling people in the podcast world, Dwayne Johnson in the movie world, UFC and WWE running almost head-to-head in the same building, new logo, the A.J. Lee/Michelle Beadle incident in detail, Stephanie McMahon stock, what happened on Raw very different from what was planned, lots of notes from developmental, lots of names at the camp this past week, Daniel Bryan's proposal, as well as a few new signees and people headed into developmental.

We also look at the UFC on FOX event, looking at ratings, promotion and star making. We also have match-by-match coverage as well as how much everyone earned on the show.

We also have coverage of the Ring of Honor Final Battle show in New York, including what changes had to be made by a weird set of circumstances and the angles shot to take the company into 2014. We look at the departure of Eddie Edwards and returns of Matt Hardy and Chris Hero.

The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.

The Observer is now in its 31st year of being the leading insider pro wrestling publication in the world. The biggest and most influential names in the pro wrestling and MMA industry, from bookers to promoters to Hall of Fame wrestlers and fighters to the biggest names on camera and behind the scenes, along with thousands of readers in all 50 states and more than 30 countries subscribe. Many have subscribed for 20 years or longer consecutively. They get the most detailed and inside coverage of what is going on all over the world. Everywhere from Wall Street to the major offices to television networks in the U.S. and Japan turn to the Observer for what is going on in the business.

If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today. Just sent your Visa or Master Card order with your name, address, phone number, card number and expiration date to
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You can also order by paypal by sending to www.paypal.com and directing the funds to
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You can also subscribe via check, cash or money order, as well as credit card by mail, by sending to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228.

We also have a look at the ratings of all the major shows.

We also have results from all the major league arena events over the past week as well as a look at all the major television shows.

Also in this week's issue:

--Leyenda de Plata tournament finally announced

--Update on AAA's expansion into the U.S.

--Dragon Gate returns to iPPV with one of its biggest shows of the year

--Creation of the double junior heavyweight title

--NOAH signs junior champion from rival promotion

--More notes on the New Japan Tokyo Dome broadcast

--A story that you wouldn't believe, except you will, regarding Antonio Inoki

--Greatest woman wrestler of all-time comes out of retirement in 2014

--Former UFC fighter in a shoot match on upcoming pro wrestling big show

--Rikidozan's grandson makes his debut

--Garry Robbins, the Paul Bunyan of Canada, and the NATPE convention years ago

--Indie roup gets local TV

--Ric Flair and a NFL team

--Notes on the Magnus TNA title situation

--Update on the A.J. Styles situation

--TNA returns to PPV in 2014

--Note on Cain Velasquez's surgery

--Story behind Bigfoot Silva's drug test failure

--Strange reaction to the result of the match

--More notes on UFC 168

--Why Prime Time is being discontinued for now

--Notes on TUF China

--Chael Sonnen and the Rashad Evans fight

--UFC video game cover

--Lots of new UFC fights

--Man vs. woman fight notes

--New MMA TV show to debut and what names are behind it

New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we'll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We've got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

Our most requested issues in our history are:

*November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a history of in-ring double-crosses)

*December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation right before the Survivor Series match so you'll know exactly what was said--the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but everything that was said between the two about the match that was going to take place that same night)

*August 1, 1994 (the most detailed coverage anywhere of the Vince McMahon steroid trial, an issue praised in numerous newspaper article and Sex, Lies and Headlocks)

*March 26, 2001 (death of WCW and history of pro wrestling on the Turner networks)

*October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)

*April 21, 2003 (history of WWF continues with the expansion nationally, the death of the regional territories and the rise of Hulk Hogan)

*May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth and the rise of fall of Lex Luger)

*June 9, 2003 (Part 1 of history of WWF vs. WCW wars and what many say was the greatest year in U.S. wrestling; plus a look at Fred Blassie)

*June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals and friends)

*July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined for a joint show and what happened)

*August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well as historical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)

*September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s, Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding world title and much more)

*October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of Road Warrior Hawk)

*February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy's win over Brock Lesnar)

*March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the business changed)

*March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers and Wrestlemania history books)

*July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair's book and his background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)

*July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair's book and his comments on Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)

*August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)

*August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund, Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez--this counts as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but ordered separately, due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)

*October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details of the life and times of one of the most influential men world wide in pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)

*November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in the history of TNA)

*January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)

*March 14, 2005 (the 50 biggest money players in the history of WWF and a look at their Hall of Fame)

*May 9, 2005 (the life and times of Chris Candido)

*June 20, 2005 (The full story behind Paul Heyman and the death of ECW, as well as coverage of One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming and behind the scenes of both shows)

*July 18, 2005 (death of Shinya Hashimoto and his records with a look at the fall of New Japan, the Matt Hardy angle, tons of WWE firings, Cornette firing in detail as well as problems of a WWE developmental territory in our biggest news issue of the year which is a double-sized issue and would be $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

*January 9, 2006 (The life and times of Superstar Billy Graham, plus New Year's Eve 2005 coverage)

*January 16, 2006 (2005 Awards double issue, $6 or $7 overseas)

*April 3, 2006 (Story of Ann Calvello and the history of Roller Derby--many called this the best issue of the Observer ever)

*April 10, 2006 (Behind the scenes at the 2006 Wrestlemania/Hall of Fame week)

*July 24, 2006 (The History of the Von Erichs and World Class Championship Wrestling--the most unreal story ever in wrestling)

*September 4, 2006 (The Rise and Fall of Kurt Angle; 2006 Hall of Fame inductions of Eddie Guerrero, Paul Bowser, Masakatsu Funaki, Aja Kong and Hiroshi Hase including tons of wrestling history around the world from the 20s through the 60s, the evolution of working to not working in Japan, and a look at Guerrero in hindsight, double issue $6 or $7 overseas)

*October 9, 2006 (A look back nine years later at the life and legacy of Brian Pillman with tons of inside information about what made him tick as his real objectives)

*November 15, 2006 (History of WCW part one, Eric Bischoff's book and how the industry was changed forever)

*November 27, 2006 (History of WCW part three, When Bischoff challenged McMahon to fight; Truth and fiction around Bret Hart signing with WCW and why it didn't click)

*December 6, 2006 (details behind Pride's offers to sell promotion and Part four of History of WCW part four, Hogan-Goldberg match and why there was no rematch, WCW loses NBC network deal in 1999 and the real reasons the company fell apart)

*August 11, 2008 (Ric Flair leaves WWE; Updated history of pro wrestlers and MMA fighters who went to the Olympics)

* September 8, 2008 (2008 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas; part one of Killer Kowalski bio)

* September 15, 2008 (Life and Times of Evan Tanner)

* September 22, 2008 (The amazing career of Killer Kowalski, one of our most in-depth bios)

You can also order any of these issues on their own for $4 in North America or $5 overseas.

Rates are:

For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to
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For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52 .

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.

We now have available personally autographed copies of Tributes II, our latest book, as well as a DVD that comes with it talking more about the subjects in the book. The book covers the life stories of Lou Thesz, Wahoo McDaniel, Elizabeth, Fred Blassie, Road Warrior Hawk, Andre the Giant, Curt Hennig, Johnny Valentine, Davey Boy Smith, Terry Gordy, Owen Hart, Stu Hart, Gorilla Monsoon, The Sheik and Tim Woods..

To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a $60 value today. This is a collection of some of the best Observer articles of the past several years in a hardcover, full-color format that is 239 pages. There is also a foreword by Bret Hart. The book price is $12.95 plus $3.50 for shipping costs in the U.S., $10 for shipping costs to Canada and $12 for shipping costs outside North America. You can order the book the same way you order the newsletter.

SATURDAY'S NEWS UPDATE

--We've got a look back 16 years at the December 21, 1997 UFC show in Yokohama, Japan. Besides being the only UFC appearance of Kazushi Sakuraba, it also had the first UFC title wins of Frank Shamrock and Randy Couture, and was also the debut of Mike Goldberg as the lead announcer.

--The UFC Countdown show for UFC 168 will air at 10 p.m. Eastern and 7 p.m. Pacific on Christmas Eve on FS 1. What a great time slot.

--The Anderson Silva documentary "Like Water" airs on FS 2 tomorrow at 11 p.m. Eastern time. The movie follows Silva as he prepared to defend his title for the first time against Chael Sonnen.

--FS 1 tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. is airing a special on the first Silva-Weidman fight with tons of backstage footage, footage of different cameras, high speed and cinema style footage and more.

--One of the biggest wrestling meets of the year, Penn State vs. Iowa, is on the Big 10 Network tonight at 6 p.m.

--In a promotion by Post Foods, they are doing a Fruity Pebbles vs. Cocoa Pebbles contest to see which cereal is the most popular. John Cena will be the captain for Fruity Pebbles and Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers will be the captain for Cocoa Pebbles.

--Hulk Hogan will be the subject of The Game 365 show on the MSG Network today at 6 p.m. (thanks to Gregory Lisa)

--The new issue of Sports Illustrated has a story on Chris Weidman

--Justin Gaethje (10-0) faces Lewis Gonzalez (9-0) to crown the first WSOF lightweight title on a 1/18 show from Hollywood, FL at the Seminole Hard Rock. That's the show that also features Mike Kyle vs. Anthony "Rumble" Johnson as well as Jessica Aguilar vs Alida Gray for the first WSOF women's 115 pound title.

--Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Jason LaBarbera is a big C.M. Punk fan, and is wearing Punk's face on his mask. He said he hopes to meet Punk someday.

--The UFC's 20th anniversary TV special (this show is really good) debuts in Canada at 4 p.m. Eastern time on Christmas Wednesday on Sportsnet and will be repeated many times on all the Sportsnet stations. It will also air right before the UFC 168 press conference on Thursday.

--Michael Elgin is starting a wrestling school in St. Louis in a few weeks. The course is six months long, classes twice a week, for $2,000. There will be classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights. It's a $500 deposit and $125 in payments biweekly. It will teach conditioning, discipline and in-ring. All students will be working on a live show at the end of the course. For more contact
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